A Somewhat Decent Love Story
by LoverofRandomThings
Summary: Noel Kahn was one of Rosewood High's finest, he had dreamy blue eyes and a smile that could make any girl drop to her knees. Mona Vanderwaal used to be the exact opposite, that was until she and Hanna climbed up the social ladder they both become the "it" girls of Rosewood. Let's just see how this relationship started and how it ended. This will be told in Mona's P.O.V.
1. The Beginning of It All

Ch.1 Let's Start From The Beginning

As soon as Alison Dilaurentis went missing in the summer of 2009, I knew that someone or some people had to take her place as Rosewood High's Queen Bee. That's when I decided that I should undergo some sort of makeover, possibly with someone who felt like they needed the change. I remember talking to Hanna after her little stunt on the trampoline. She said she felt like she needed to shed a few pounds and I helped her through it all. We were motivated to become a better version of ourselves, so I ditched the glasses and looked into some fashion magazines. Hanna wanted to stop eating away her sorrows and I wanted to know how it would feel like to be part of the buzz in Rosewood.

A year and three months later, Hanna and I had entered Rosewood High but this time we were two completely different people. We had become tougher, wiser, and all the more beautiful. As soon as we walked in through those doors hand in hand, we both felt unstoppable like no one could bring us down in any way. Hanna was obviously thinner and more confident, she had a cool vibe whenever she roamed through the halls. I now wore contact lenses and I don't wear silly barrettes or twin tails anymore, I mean I can see why people used to call me "loser" and "freak" whenever I walked by them. Now, whenever Hanna and I passed by I could hear people talking about how they thought it was amazing how much we changed in two summers and three months.

"Hanna, that lip color looks amazing on you! You have to talk to me about it!" I said as we stopped by at her locker.

"Thanks, Mona. I actually _stole_ it from the Clinique makeup counter at Nordstrom." she whispered.

"Ooohh. How juicy! Wait you never told me what it was or what shade it's in." I smiled.

"Oh, it's a Clinique Chubby Stick in Woppin Watermelon." she smiled back.

"Haha. You need to lend it to me sometime soon." I said as soon as Hanna closed her locker.

"It's kind of amazing how a year ago I was just one of 'Ali's puppets' and now-" she sighed.

"Now, you and I are part of Rosewood High's buzz." I finished her sentence.

"That's exactly what I was about to say." she smiled at the ground.

"Oof!" Hanna and another familiar voice said in unison

"I- I'm so sorry!" Hanna picked up her books along with the other person's. "I didn't watch where I was going, haha."

"It's okay, it's my fault too. I was too busy talking to Noel so we basically collided." he shyly scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, so it's my fault for being so interesting and funny?" Noel interjected. "From the way I see it, I did you guys a favor."

"Don't mind him," Sean extended his hand, "I'm Sean, Sean Ackard."

"Hanna." she smiled and shook his hand.

"Ahem, I believe I have to introduce myself to Ms. Hanna's patient friend over there," Noel cleared his throat, "I'm Noel."

"I'm Mona," I smiled, "Um Han, I think we need to get going to Mr. Adams…"

"Oh. Uh. Yeah." she took her gaze off of him and walked over to where I was.

"See you around then?" Sean asked.

"Sure." Hanna nodded and then we walked off.

We arrived in class and apparently we had a sub who let us sit in class and do anything as long as we didn't smoke pot or use electronics.

"Han, honey, do you still have a crush on Sean Ackard?" I turned to face her.

"I- I guess so. I mean I had butterflies in my stomach when we were talking." she blushed.

"Aw, you're so adorable," I smiled, "But you gotta step up your game. I mean, you have to flirt with him some or else he won't get the message! He seemed kind of into you."

"H- He did?" she blushed even harder.

"Hun, I know when a guy is into someone. Now promise me that if we see him at lunch, you'd flirt with him." I told her.

"I guess I could. I mean what the hell, why not?" she laughed, "What about you and Noel?"

"Um, haven't you heard that Noel's still into Prudence Finn?" I asked.

"He _still _is?" Hanna gasped.

I nodded, "I think it's been more than a year since they've broken up."

"Were you ever into him?" she asked.

"Honestly, what girl hasn't had a thing for him for some amount of time?" I answered.

"Sorry I'm late. I got my schedule mixed up." he walked into the room.

"Uh that's fine. Just sit wherever you please. Mr. Adams isn't here." the sub said

Noel walked towards we were, actually past us. I guess we didn't actually qualify as Noel Kahn's friends.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Anyone sitting here?" he smiled.

"Uh I don't think so." I turned over to Hanna.

"Good." he said as he took the seat behind me.


	2. Noel?

Ch.2 Noel?

It's been two weeks since Sean and Noel have been acquainted with us. Well, actually Hanna and Sean have been dating. Hanna and I are now at the Rosewood Mall on a Monday morning. You might be wondering about what the hell we're doing… Well let's just say for the most part, that none of what we're doing is legal.

We walk into a department store to do some "browsing". We both go to "Accessories" section, but Hanna decides to head off to a counter with expensive sunglasses on display and tries one pair on while I roam around in the scarves and try a few on until I feel like it _might _be meant for me.

I finally find I pink, white, and navy blue striped scarf and walk towards Hanna.

"Hey, is this me?" I ask.

"Or is it a little too much your mother?"

_Han's right, Mona. What are you doing with this? Now is not the time to go back to being Loser Mona._

"I love those sunglasses on you," I say, "How much?"

"350." she replies.

After a while, I see her headed somewhere… Oh. Look, she's talking to Spencer.

_Okay, Mona. Focus. Find a scarf and walk out of here._

I find a nice red scarf that suits my skin tone and walk through a corridor just to find Hanna in the middle of walking out.

"I so thought you were busted." I chuckled as I walked toward her.

"Nice scarf."

"Nice glasses."

And we walk out together.

"Mona, is it true that you're serial dating the lacrosse team?" Hanna asks on the drive to school.

"Oh, they're just little friendly outings." I smiled at her.

"Are you sure that it's just you wanting to be part of the Rosewood buzz?" she asks as we pulled into the parking lot.

"No, I promise. I'm just killing time."

We walk into the class in which the new teacher is and shortly after I see Aria Montgomery walk in and take a seat next to Emily Fields.

Hanna waves at them and then we get back to talking.

I briefly look behind me and Noel Kahn isn't here. And for some reason, I feel kind of down…

"Hey, is Noel Kahn ditching?" I ask.

"I think so." Hanna replies.

The new teacher writes his name on the board. "Mr. Fritz(?)" I'm not entirely sure since I forgot my contacts.

He turns around to introduce himself I think.

"Holy crap." he stares in Aria's direction.

Aria says something but I can't hear what she said.

"Uh, I'm Mr. Fitz, your new English teacher."

What the hell was that? Hm... I guess Little Miss Aria and Mister Fitz had/have a little thing.

As he's passing worksheets to the class I turn to pass the papers back but Noel's not here, so I have to stretch and pass it to the next person.

It's lunch and Hanna and I are having lunch with Sean and his other friends.

"Dude, do you know where Noel is?" I hear one of Sean's teammates/friends say.

"I've heard he went out of town, probably to Philly."

"Oh!"

"Do you think that Noel still has a thing for Prudence?"

"Ya know, it's hard to tell since he flirts with _almost _everyone. But I think so."

"Doesn't that Aria girl look kind of like her? I bet ten bucks that Noel would actually fall for her and try to date her!"

"You're on!"

I honestly feel out of place right now because Hanna and Sean are chatting and I really don't want to interrupt them and also I think it'd kind of be awkward to join in their conversation about Noel and who's gonna be the next chick that Noel Kahn would hit on._  
_


	3. He's Back!

Ch.3 He's Back!

Hanna and I are walking from the school parking lot to school.

"Ah! Totally love this color," I say applying lip-gloss that Hanna lent me, "We should've stocked up on a few more tubes."

"Well, I only have two hands. Keep it." she says kind of irritated.

We hear laughter and see Sean and Noel walking toward us (or the school building, rather (?)).

"Sean!" she kisses him on the cheek, "What's so funny?"

"Nothin'," Sean replies, "Noel's just out of control."

He kisses her on the cheek, "Mm, you smell good."

"Save something for tomorrow night," Noel says.

"What's tomorrow night?" I ask.

"It means the party of the year is officially on. Think big, think wild, think parental units in a different time zone." he tells us.

"I gotta get to practice," Sean says, "Save that smell." he tells Hanna.

And then Noel and Sean take off.

"So… the pressure's on." I say.

"What do you mean?" Hanna asks.

"Not all of us have a Sean to wear to that party," I say, "and I'm not gonna spend the night guarding the bushes so you can jump each other's bones."

"Okay. We're not gonna be doing it in the bushes." Hanna snaps at me.

"Whatever," I say, "Have you guys even done it yet?"

"It's not a race, Mona." Hanna says in an annoyed tone.

"Okay mom, seriously. No one's pushing you to be a natty ho, but you guys have been dating for weeks. If you're not together in that way, how do you know you're together-together?" I say as we walk to class.

I'm actually in class alone since Hanna got called over to the office and it's kind of awkward for the last 20 minutes since I've had no one to talk to.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and I look behind me.

"Hey." Noel says.

"Hi! Why aren't you at practice?" I asked.

"Ah, well we finished early." he smirked then looked over to the right, "Who's the new girl?"

"She's not entirely new, that's Aria Montgomery." I told him, "She just got back from her family trip in Europe."

"Oh." he still stared at her.

"Well Hanna would invite her since Aria is one of Hanna's friends." I shrugged.

"Is she your friend?" he turned to me.

"She's more so Hanna's friend than mine." I said as the bell rung, "If you excuse me, I have to get to lunch."

He grabs my arm, "Mona."

I stop and turn, "Yes?"

"You've been acting weird ever since I've noticed Aria, you okay?" he asks.

"Um, sorry. It's just been there's been a lot on my mind, like who I should bring to homecoming and what should I wear to your party." I answer.

"I'll be your date to homecoming." he smiles

As soon as he says that, my heart skips a beat.

"Uh… i-it's a joke." he flashes another smile.

"I-I knew that. Besides, I'm dating Connor. You know, from the lacrosse team?"

"Ah, okay. I wasn't really planning on going to homecoming, anyway. I gotta go. See you at the party tonight, Mona." he says, then walks off.

I find Hanna at lunch, and sit next to her.

"Anything new happen in class?" she asks as she takes a seat next to Sean.

"Uh, not really. I think Noel might have a thing for your friend, Aria." I tell her.

"Oh? Finally he's gotten over Prudence!" she says.

Sean nods, "It's about time! It's been like, a year."

"Hey. Why isn't Noel sitting with us, Sean?" I ask.

"Ah, Noel kind of left in the middle of practice, he's making up for it." Sean replies.

"Oh." I say.

The bell rings.

"Gotta get to practice again," he kisses Hanna on the cheek, "See you tonight."

"Bye." she waves and we go to class together


	4. Noel's Party

Ch.4 The Party

I am at Noel's party with Connor, but we chat with other people. Now, I know that you're probably thinking that I obviously would be talking to Noel. Wrong. I'm chatting with Noel's football teammates and they're actually pretty interesting. I would be chatting with Hanna, but she's patiently waiting for Sean so she could lose her "V" card. I excuse myself and grab some punch for myself, and who do I bump into? If you guessed Noel, then you're right. Ding, ding, ding!

"Oh crap. I am so sorry. I'm so careless that I spilled my freaking punch all over you!" I grab a handkerchief from my purse.

"No, no. It's no big deal, this is my house, my room is upstairs, and I can grab a new shirt. No worries." he flashes a smile.

I smile guiltily, "It may seem like nothing to you but I've never spilled anything on anyone and you're the first person I've ever spilled something on. Can I do anything for you?"

"I'm actually gonna have to play foosball soon with Sean, so I can't say much. But just have fun tonight. That's all I can say. I'll probably come up with something for you to do for me sometime later." he says as he holds one cup of punch with his teeth and one cup of punch with both hands.

I find Connor shortly after, and I find Hanna on the way out to where the other couples are and she's impatiently waiting for Sean.

_It's been two hours! Seriously? Ugh…_

"Have you guys…? Seriously?" I say as we pass by her and I grab Connor and lead him outside.

Around an hour later, I see Hanna furiously marching in the direction of Sean's car, I think. So I get up from Connor's lap and I rush over to her.

"Hanna! Hanna, what's up?"

She doesn't respond.

"Hanna!" she opens Sean's car door. "Wait, why are you taking Sean's car?"

She gets in and starts the engine.

"Hanna!"

She ignores me and speeds off further into the night.

Connor catches up to me, "You okay?"

"No…" I say with a hint of terror.

Connor puts his arm around me and kisses the top of my head.

Moments later, Sean and Noel rush out.

"Mona, have you seen Hanna?" Sean asked pretty frightened.

"I normally won't rat Hanna out Sean, but this might put her in danger…" I reply.

"What the hell happened?" Noel asks me calmly and rubs my back.

"I think Hanna took off in Sean's car… and I have **no **idea about what's going to happen to her or your car, Sean." I say horrified.

"Let's go inside," Noel suggests, "And get you a glass of water."

As soon as I enter the room, I'm still pretty shaken so Noel hands a blanket to me and gives me a glass of water.

"Are you okay?" he asks me.

"Well I don't know what happened to Hanna. I mean I've been texting her for an hour. I hope that she's okay."

"Hey," Noel takes my hand and looks deeply into my eyes, "Everything's gonna be alright."

"Haha," I sniffle, "I guess you say that to every girl you know who's had a problem."

Noel smirks, "Well, you definitely know how I work."

We laugh for a bit. Then Connor comes in.

"Uh Mona, we gotta go it's 1AM." he tells me.

"R-Right!" I wipe my tears, "I'm gonna have to leave, but thank you for being such a good _friend_." I emphasize friend or at least try to, to also remind myself that I should and could not get all romantic with Noel Kahn, he has a thing for Aria and I'm pretty sure he's never seen me like someone he could go out with.

On the drive home, Connor asks me a question out of the blue.

"Do you like Noel Kahn?"

"No, no. I admit that when I was 'Loser Mona', I had a crush on him. But now, he's nothing more than a friend to me." I look him in the eyes when we reach the stoplight and it turns red.

He nods, "I trust you. I don't want to lose you, Mona. I mean, I know you've dated my other teammates on the lacrosse team but I was really shocked to see that I'm the one you've stayed the longest with." he smiles at me and takes my hand.

At that moment, I _knew_ that I had to stay with Connor and suppress my feelings for Noel Kahn to avoid further high school drama/stress.

About 15 minutes later, we stop in front of my house.

"Mona," he looks me in the eye, "Get some sleep and if you're really worried, call Hanna's mom tomorrow morning." he gives me a small smile and a peck on the cheek.

For some reason, something pushes me to lean in and kiss him and I do. I grab the back of his head just kiss him.

_This, _I tell myself, _this feels right._

After about a minute he pulls back from the kiss.

"What was that for?" he chuckles and his face looks red.

"I feel really stupid because I'm just now realizing how much I've fallen for you." I smile at the ground.

"Haha, you're adorable," he smiles at me, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Okay, sure." I shrug.

He takes my arm before I open the door, "One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Will you go to homecoming with me?" he gives me a smile I can't resist.

"Of course!" I chuckle as I hug him. 


	5. Homecoming

Ch. 5 Homecoming

At home I'm getting ready for homecoming I prefer to do my hair and makeup before putting on my dress. It's a sleeveless, crimson red dress that's about four inches above my knees that has three crimson silk roses in the front in the center of the chest area. I'm pairing it with a gold necklace and a gold shoulder purse with silver hoop earrings. I'm just going for a tinted moisturizer for light coverage, filling in and defining my brows, doing a black/dark gray smokey eye with dramatic definition on the lower lash line and my waterline's rimmed with black eyeliner, and I'm sporting a baby pink lip. For my hair, I just curled my hair with a 1 1/4 inch curling iron with the clamp.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

_He's here!_

I rush downstairs.

"Mom, who is it?"

"It's Noel Kahn. With flowers."

"Huh?"

"Hey." he smiles at me.

"Let me go get the camera!" she says excitedly.

I grab her arm, "He's not my date."

"Oh sorry. I'll just give you two privacy." her head is down, "Call me when your real date's here."

"You look great!" he says.

"Thanks," I give him a small smile, "What exactly are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming to homecoming…"

"Mona, you skipped school for two days. I was worried for you. And I know that you're gonna hate what I'm gonna say next, but I have homework to give you from Mr. Fitz's class."

"Oh thanks, Noel." I say, "For your concern and all this stuff you brought."

We both laugh at what I've said.

"You know, I thought that a guy can only tell a girl she looks great if they're on a date," I chuckle.

"Haha. Well I guess I beat your date to it!" he laughs.

Awkward silence.

"See you around, and uh… try to have fun without me." he jokes.

"Oh, there's plenty of fun to go around without you, Noel." I laugh.

We both smile at each other. Then Noel walks off with his hands in his pockets.

It isn't about 10 minutes later when Connor arrives, which is perfect since I haven't applied my lipstick or let alone, put on perfume.

I hear the doorbell ring.

"Your date's here!" my mom yells excitedly.

I rush downstairs.

"H-Hi!" I hug him.

He kisses me on the cheek, "You look stunning!"

"Aw, thanks. You look pretty dashing yourself." I stare at him.

We kiss for a brief moment.

"Ahem!" mom stares at me, "Smile for the camera!"

And we do.

"Now let's take a picture of you two gazing into each other's eyes."

Again, we do as told.

"Okay," she kisses my cheek, "Now go out there and have fun! But be back by 10."

"I'll take care of your daughter, Ms. Vanderwaal." he smiles at her.

"Thank you. Now drive safe, you two!"

"We've got it, mom." I hug her.

Connor offers me his hand and I take it.

He opens the car door for me and I get in.

"Is your seatbelt buckled?" he asks.

"Haha. It is," I smile, "It's sweet that you're trying to make sure that I'm safe."

He takes my hand as we drive to school, "I know, it's just that I don't want anything to go wrong."

We get to the school parking lot and Connor opens the car door for me. And I take his arm and walk to school. Coincidentally I see Sean and Hanna.

"Mona!" she hugs me, "Introduce me to your hot date!"

"Your date isn't looking bad either Ms. Marin," I chuckle, "Anyways, this is Connor."

They shake hands and Sean introduces himself to Connor as well and we walk to school as a group.

"So is this a fling? Or are you guys…?" Hanna whispers.

"We're an actual couple." I smile.

"Mona Vanderwaal has found true love? Wow."

We laugh.

After an hour or so after coming in and hanging out with Aria, Spencer, and Alex; Hanna and I go to the punch table.

"Is that Becky Newman?" Hanna asks.

"Ugh! It looks like her hair… got into a fight with her face and they both lost." I say.

"Yearbook pictures!" I hear a familiar voice, then see a flash, "Hey."

It's Lucas Gottesman….

"Hey," Hanna says, "Nice bow-tie!"

"Thanks, it's my grandpa's", Lucas turns to me, "Hey, I'm Lucas."

_We've met when Alison was alive. You know me._

"Great!" I say sarcastically, "Can you be Lucas over there?"

He shakes his head, "Um…"

Awkward silence.

"I'll see you around, Hanna." he says with a small smile.

"See you around, have fun!" she says with a sorry look on her face.

He takes off and she turns to me, "Rude much?"

"Okay, am I in a parallel universe or did you just engage in conversation with 'Hermie'?" I ask.

"He's **not** a hermaphrodite okay?" she snaps at me, "He's a nice guy. And saying 'hi' to him is not a crime."

"Well, it should be!" I tell her, "Okay, you did **not** bust your ass and become Rosewood's 'it' girl to make chit-chat with shim!"

I really don't want to recall the rest of the conversation because I've regretted shit-talking people. But let's just say that I've rushed outside of the school not wanting Connor or Hanna to find me because I burst out in tears because not only would I probably be falling into rock bottom, but I would also lose Hanna.

"Mona?" I heard a Noel Kahn-like voice ask.

"Noel?" I looked up, "What are you doing here?"

"I had a football game, obviously." he said with a worried expression on his face, "Is everything okay?"

I shake my head, "I think that I might slowly be losing Hanna."

He tries to comfort me and says, "I honestly think that Hanna wouldn't want you to think that way."

"Oh shit, the slow dance is starting. I gotta get to Connor." I gently push Noel off of me, "At least the mascara formula I'm wearing is waterproof, but how do I look?"

He takes a step toward me and his big hands reach out to my face. Blood rushes to my cheeks.

_Oh no… Is he gonna kiss me?_

He wipes my tears, "Beautiful."

"T-Thanks." I say kind of frightened then I run back into the building.

I find Connor.

"Hey," he kisses my cheek, "You okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry the bathroom line had a long wait." I told him.

The music plays and I pull him close to me, my head resting on his shoulder, and I close my eyes.


	6. He's Finally Made His Move!

Ch. 6 He's Finally Made His Move!

Today's the day of the S.A.T.'s and I'm actually pretty late and there's a storm, so there's traffic from my house to the school.

"_Where are you at?" _Hanna's text says.

"_Sorry. I woke up late and there's really heavy traffic."_ I reply.

"_Be careful, please!" _she texts back.

After about 45 minutes of trying to get to school, I try to get into the testing room which is the library, according to Hanna.

As soon as I walk in, I see Hanna and Lucas chatting and laughing.

And due to how pissy the traffic made me, I decide to take my anger out on none other than Lucas.

"Hey there, Lady H!" I greet Hanna then turn to Lucas, "I know you also answer to that, Hermie. But I was talking to her."

"Nice bag." he tells me.

"Listen to you, in touch with your feminine side," I smile, "So, would that be your right or your left?"

They laugh for a few seconds.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"Nothing," Hanna finally speaks, "You need to sign in."

"They know I'm here," I turn to Lucas again, "You can go now. This beauty doesn't need a beast."

He gives Hanna a hurt look, then leaves with his head down.

From the corner of my eyes I see what seems like Noel finally making a move on Aria and asking her out. Hanna and I take our seats, facing back to back and shortly after, Noel and Aria leave the library. That should make things _much_ easier for me to ignore my romantic feelings for Noel Kahn, and focus on other things.

After about 30 minutes, I hear the sound of Noel playing the guitar and Aria singing. Not much has happened between that time. The only thing worth telling you guys about is that Hanna told me to leave Lucas alone and also that I needed to get a heart. I decide to stop with the insults, for now because doing anything to upset Hanna at this point is critical.

A few moments later, I turn to see Noel and Aria chatting again. Okay I know that I've said that this is a good thing, but this is pretty crazy. They've been talking to no one else but each other for like the past 4 hours (?).

It's time to go home and I stop by my locker. I look around to wait for Hanna, but she probably left earlier than me due to the fact that she doesn't want to see me. I see Noel who's not so far away from me, only to see that he walks past me and right up to Aria. They chat for 5 minutes, then Noel passes by me again looking all giddy.

"Hey, stranger!" I call out.

Noel looks around and stops to see me.

"Oh. Uh. Hey, Mona." he says, "I, uh, didn't think you'd be here today."

"It's testing day, from what my mom knows." I sigh, "It's mandatory that I be here."

"Ah." he says.

"So…" I try to break the ice, "I see you've been hanging around Aria recently."

"Yeah, I have." he says, "Ever since Sean and Hanna invited Aria and I over for a double date last Wednesday."

"Oh, so are you guys together-together?" I ask.

"I guess so," he chuckles, "By the way, where's your 'hottie' as you and Hanna would call him?"

"Oh, well he's out of town. His father just died, and he's in Arizona." I tell him.

"Ah," Noel says, "So would he be in town for your birthday? It's Friday, isn't it?"

"Uh. Yeah, but I'm planning on celebrating it on Saturday. It's an all-girls party, sorry Noel." I say.

"Oh, so can Friday be our day? We haven't really been hanging out much as of lately." he smiles at me.

"Uh, I don't really know," I tell him uncertainly, "Tell you what, I ask Connor if he'll be here for my birthday, but if he isn't able to make it, we could probably have Friday to ourselves."

He grins, "It's a date."

_Ba-dump._

I smile and nod, "Okay."


	7. I'm Sorry

**A/N: I should have done this two chapters ago, but I just wanted to thank you guys sooo much. I honestly didn't think my story would get about 112 views in about three or four days because I've just seen one note on my Tumblr post which was kind of depressing, haha. So thank you. And to those of you who are following my story, reviewing it, and favoriting it; thank you, you don't know how much your support for me and this story means so much to me and as of the moment, I'm trying to write as many chapters as I possibly can before school starts so thank you for your patience and for reading this. *gives everyone big hugs* Enjoy this chapter!  
_**

Ch.7 I'm Sorry.

It's Friday and I'm not really on speaking terms with Hanna since she didn't want to ditch school with me yesterday at lunch, so she's uninvited to "Camp Mona" tomorrow.

Noel looks in my direction when he enters class, "Hey, birthday girl!" he has a bag with his gift(s?) for me.

"Hi!" I give him a quick hug.

"I'm just gonna leave this for you," he hands over the bag then quickly walks over to Aria's desk and they kiss.

"Thanks, Noel." I say softly as I see him with Aria.

The bell for lunch rings and I shake my head and walk off without saying goodbye to any of my friends in Mr. Fitz's class.

I go to my locker to stuff the birthday gifts my friends gave me, leaving Noel's bag in the front.

Suddenly a pair of arms hug me from behind and someone's arms kiss my cheek.

I turn around, "Connor!" I kiss him, "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too!" he says as he hands me a life-sized teddy bear.

"Connor!" I gasp, "Now where the hell am I gonna put this?" I chuckle as I gaze into his eyes.

"That's not all." he gives me a beautiful bouquet of roses, red roses forming a heart with white and pink ones filling the heart in.

"Haha okay," I laugh, "I can put the roses in here, take it easy there Connor. Leave the surprises for after school." I move Noel's bag and place Connor's roses in front then turn around and move a hair from his face.

He holds me in his arms and I hug him and whisper, "I could not ask for a better boyfriend, I love you."

"Mona, do you want to come to meet my parents tonight?" he gazes into my eyes.

"I would love that," I tell him, "But I might take long, you know makeup, and everything."

"Mona," he takes my hand, "You're perfect without makeup, just come in a nice outfit." he smiles.

"Alright." I tell him.

I see Noel making his way to the cafeteria.

"Uh, can you excuse me for one second?" I ask Connor.

He nods.

"Noel!" I walk up to him, "I can't spend after school with you. I know I said I would text you if Connor was coming today, but he surprised me. I'm sorry."

"Well, this is the first time that a girl has ever bailed on me…" he says with a glum look on his face, "Now you have two things to do to make it up." he jokes.

"I-I'm sorry?"

"Remember that one time from the party? And with what happened now, you have to make up for two things you've done." he smiles.

I see Connor waiting, "I gotta go." I tiptoe so I can whisper something to him, "Just a heads up: I think your girlfriend, Aria, has been seeing Mr. Fitz for 'extra credit' before and after class, and maybe sometimes on the weekends."

I walk toward Connor and we walk to the cafeteria.

_Sorry, Noel. Just thought you should hear it from me instead of seeing it for yourself…_ I thought to myself.

A while after, I see Noel sit next to Aria in the cafeteria and kiss her.

"So, what time do I come to your house?" I ask Connor.

"Uh, don't worry about it," he tells me, "I'll, uh, I'll pick you up at six."

"Okay." I smile and kiss him on the cheek.

We make it to his house at 6:25, and his house is amazing by the way!

We ring the doorbell and his gorgeous mother comes out.

"Happy Birthday, Melissa!" she says enthusiastically.

"M-Melissa?" I'm suddenly concerned.

"Mom, I told you her name was Mona. Melissa was my friend from the seventh grade." he tells her.

"O-Oh! I'm so sorry. I'm _terrible _with names." she says with an apologetic face.

"It's fine." I smile timidly.

Connor pulls out a chair when we reach the dining room.

They've prepared many dishes and they said they didn't know if I was vegetarian or not or if I was allergic so that's why they have so much food, which I thought was really smart. And I _am _vegetarian so I'm happy that they've done this.

We talked for an hour or so. I came home at like 9. 


	8. The Accident

Ch. 8 My Guilty Conscience

Knowing that Hanna's in the hospital because of what I did kills me because I was trying to protect Noel from being discovered. I know you might think what I did was careless, protecting someone who barely noticed me this school year, but it wasn't. You see, I thought that Noel knowing about Ezra and Aria would bring justice and besides, Noel writing "I SEE YOU" is doing no harm. It's just a little reminder basically telling them to be more careful.

Once Hanna's mom calls me and tells me that it's okay for me to visit Hanna, I try to go there as soon as possible.

I'm in the waiting room because Hanna's other friends (you know: Aria, Spencer, and Emily) are in there. I see Noel rush from the elevator with a teddy bear basket. After 10 minutes, Noel takes a seat next to me.

"Hey." Noel says.

"Hey." I say with a slight smile.

"I think that Hanna got into an accident because of _me_." he tells me.

"Why?" I asked.

"She probably saw me writing what I wrote on Mr. Fitz's car." he shakes his head.

"Stop," I say with tears in my eyes, "You had _nothing_ to do with it."

"What makes you say that? You were busy at your party." he says.

"No, Noel," I shake my head, "I say that because _I_ was the one who ran Hanna over with my car."

He looks shocked for a moment.

"Why?" he licks his lips, "Why would you do that?"

I chuckled for a bit tearfully, "I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought letting you write that message anonymously was harmless. I thought it would do you justice. And I thought once Hanna told her friends what she saw, Aria and Ezra would just keep doing what they were doing without a care in the world."

He was staring at me intensely.

"I have to fix my makeup, see you around." I left before he could say anything.

After I finished reapplying my makeup, I headed over to Hanna's room and opened the door slowly, just in case she was sleeping.

I heard her gasp softly so I waved a white lace bra in my hand to show her that it was me.

She sighs, "Ugh. My god, Mona."

"I'm waving a white LaPerla. That's, like, the international peace symbol." I laugh.

She stares at me.

"Can I come in?" I ask guiltily.

She chuckles for a bit. "Yeah. Come in."

I walk towards her, "Oh that cast! That's, like, for a broken leg… That won't keep you from wearing heels, will it?"

"Just for a little bit." she replies.

"If I hadn't uninvited you to my party, you wouldn't have felt so desperate as to sneak around the edges and to get hit by that car." I sigh, "I almost feel guilty."

Hanna looks up and shakes her head.

"Mona, you don't have anything to feel guilty for."

I smile and say, "Oh, good."

"Can we go back to being friends?" she asks.

"The past is… forgotten," I smile at her, "Friends forever."

She smiles back at me and I stare at her for a while.

"What?" she asks.

"You just look sort of… vague." I answer.

"Oh," she puts one hand on her face, "I don't have any makeup on."

I show her my emergency makeup bag.

"I can fix that." I smile.

And she lets me put makeup on her.

When we're finished I asked her, "Do you… remember that time you threw up on the trampoline and you did that backflip and you barfed as you flipped over?"

"Trust me," she laughs, "I remember."

"Well," I tell her, "the thing I remember is your dismount. You knew everybody was staring at you. You got to the edge, climbed down, and looked at us. You wiped your mouth and when you took a _bow_, I was in awe."

"Of me hurling on the trampoline?" she asks with a confused look on her face.

"No, of that bow! It was like, this incredible life lesson. That's when I knew I wanted to be your friend." I smiled at her.

"Wow," she looks at me, "I never knew that."

"That's because I never told you." 


	9. Surprise!

It's Thursday and I'm actually throwing Hanna a surprise party since she's getting out of the hospital today. The only downside is that Connor isn't here today because he's sick… So I guess that I don't have anyone to sit with at lunch.

We're in Mr. Fitz's class and Noel and I are chatting.

"I'm throwing a surprise party for Hanna at her house, you coming?" I ask.

He nods, "I'm there. You can count on it."

I smile at him and the bell rings.

"Aria!" I hear him say.

I think about sitting with him at lunch, but he has to get Aria on her good side. Instead, I decide to sit with Sean.

"So, Sean," I begin to say, "Now that Hanna's getting out from the hospital today, are you coming to the surprise party I'm throwing for her?"

"Well that's a no-brainer… of course!"

"Good, invite your other teammates!"

Not so far from where I am, I see Noel following a pissed off Aria (or annoyed, rather?). And she sits down with Spencer and Emily while Noel walks over to Sean's table.

Sean turns to see Noel.

"Dude, why the glum face? Did Aria dump your ass yet?"

Noel shakes his head.

"I'm not even sure about what the hell is happening anymore." he places himself in between Sean and me.

"Give her some space." Sean advises.

"You know what? I'm gonna have to talk to her tonight at the party!" Noel says, completely ignoring what Sean told him.

Sean face-palms and I just sit there, unsure of what to do.

It's four o' clock which means the guests should be here soon. I'm at Hanna's place, filling her in with what's going on in school.

"Whoa. What was that?" I look outside of her house.

"What?" she asks with a bit of fear in her voice.

"I-I just saw a shadow." I gently move her wheelchair out of my way and walk toward the door.

"Mona, don't! Mona! Call the police!" she tells me.

I catch a glimpse of Sean's face outside the door.

"Oh hush, Baby Jane!" I tell here and open the door.

And soon enough, Hanna's place is filled with people.

I accompany and greet the other guests, because that's what good hosts/ hostesses do.

As I turn to check to see how Hanna's doing, I see her staring at the door and at first I don't get why. I thought she was looking for Sean but he was one of the first to come in, he even kissed her cheek to let her know he was here! But as I looked toward the door, I saw none other than Noel Kahn. I intentionally tried to stay with other people I invited, because we both know what Noel Kahn came here for… He knew that Aria Montgomery would be there since she's Hanna's friend and he's been wanting to talk to her for the longest while now.

From the corner of my eye, I see Noel approach Aria and he has the same look on his face as a kid who is being scolded by his mother would have. They look like they're arguing but not loudly so they wouldn't be able to draw attention to themselves.

"Smart move." I smirk to myself.

"What was that?" Hanna asked, concerned.

"I was just looking through Netflix to see if there are any good movies to watch," I smiled at her, "So far, nothing. Only movies which we can make fun of."

"What, like 'Mean Girls 2'? That be a blast to make fun of. It's full of Disney stars, and you know how much sequels of comedy movies suck." she chuckled as she took a sip of water.

"That comes out in, like, thirteen days," I laugh, "Can I come over once it airs on TV?"

Hanna thought about it for a moment, "I'll tell you within a week."

"Sure." I smiled at her.

Shortly after, Sean gathers his friends around so that he can tell them stories about him and Hanna. Lucas mutters a few insulting things under his breath but when Lucas mutters something about a "St. Bernard", that pisses off Sean so bad that he's just about ready to fight with Lucas, but Noel stops him.

"Sean, stop! It's like fighting a kid who needs a telethon!"

"Lucas!" Hanna calls him out and both Sean and Lucas face her, "Can I talk to you for a bit outside?"

Lucas heads out while Hanna follows.

"What was that all about?" I ask Hanna's friends, but all they do is glance at each other, then leave.

I watched them leave but as I did so, I saw Noel staring at Aria but then we make eye contact, give a confused look, and then shrugged. He signaled me to let me know that he was leaving and I nodded.

"Uh, Sean. I'm gonna head out now. Tell Hanna that I said 'get well soon' or something like that." Noel patted him on the back.

"Sure, sure." Sean was still staring outside, where Hanna and Lucas went.

"I haven't talked to you at all tonight, but that's okay." Noel hugged me from the side, "But, it was nice seeing you."

As soon as he let go, he walked towards the door and left. By the time I turned my head to look at Sean, he was gone. I guess he had already gone to Hanna.


	10. The Talk

**A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating frequently but there's school going on and stuff I had to be in the hospital for... Ugh! It was pretty frustrating. But fear not, I actually have a free day today so I bring you Chapters 9 and 10(This Chapter and the previous one, obviously). I honestly had no idea in terms of where I was gonna go in Chapter 9(I was clearly stuck on it for the past couple of months), but Chapter 10 was definitely something I've wanted for the longest time and I didn't know how it was gonna turn out. Chapter 10 just so happens to be one of my favorite chapters so far and please leave some reviews to let me know what you guys think! I think we're just about halfway through this fic, but fear not this story just gets interesting the further we go and we'll have a lot of surprises. I might do a spin-off on this fic with Noel's POV and if you're keen on this idea, again just leave a review. And lastly, I would just like to thank you all for reading, I never thought that my first fic would have 600+ views so I love you all and thank you for following this story,reading,adding this to your favorites, sharing, and supporting. Again, thank you all so much, I love you, and I promise you that this chapter will be a real treat! :)  
_**

Ch.10: The Talk

It's May, technically almost the end of the semester… Connor left two months ago so we had to break up. Honestly, we were considering a long-distance relationship but I told him that I didn't know if this would work out, especially since I need to still be part of Rosewood's buzz. He understood completely what I meant by it and he was pretty heartbroken/ sad about it at first but when I told him a bit about the Alison thing, he told me that he gets where I'm coming from and that he wishes the best for me. Noel and Aria broke up a little after, so did Hanna and Sean. So little by little, our circle of friends strayed away to be with other friends. I usually hang out with Cindy and Mindy.

We're in Mr. Fitz's class today and while Hanna's talking to the usual trio she hangs out with, I try to avoid staring at their little group. Cindy and Mindy don't have this class with me so I have nowhere to hide.

_There it is again, this feeling of wanting to belong somewhere, wanting someone by my side, a friend, Hanna, to be by me and me only… Jealousy… Envy… I've been trying to be friends with them for the longest time. How do they treat me? Like I'm some sort of pest, trash, some annoying girl trying to fit in… _

_I'm just… Loser Mona, it's no wonder why they stare at me that way, why they treat me this way, leaving me out of everything…_

_I need to step up my __**A-**__game….._

Tears roll down my cheeks. Shortly after, Noel taps me as he enters the classroom, and I snap out of this little daze. I was burying my head in my arms on my desk to make it look like I fell asleep. I take my head out of my arms and stretch.

"Did I ruin your beauty sleep?" he smiles at me.

"Huh? Oh no." I shake my head, "I was using my phone."

"Mona," he puts a hand on my shoulder, "Class starts in about ten minutes and for once I'm early, so you don't have to hide your phone."

"Oh, duh." I chuckle.

"Anyways, can you, maybe, ditch Cindy and Mindy at lunch today?" he asks.

"That depends…" I say with a hint of uncertainty, "Why?"

"It's really important." he says.

Exasperated, I say, "Okay, if you need some sort of plan to get back with Aria, talk to Hanna or something."

"I know that I've been bombarding you with questions about Aria and asking for advice about her, but you'd be surprised to know that it's something completely different." he reassures me.

"So, this is about another girl…" I say.

"Yes, and it's a girl you know very well. She's a lot like you."

"Wait… You like Hanna?!" I whisper loudly.

"Mo-" he starts to say.

"Okay, you know that she likes Caleb right? You're far away from her type, I mean I think they're sort of, kind of, together…"

"First of all Mona, you didn't let me finish," he says, "And secondly, I'll just talk to you about it later. If you can't cancel on Cindy and Mindy, so help me, I will come to your house and throw stones at your window."

"Noel, I don't think my mom would appreciate you throwing rocks at my window, she would call the police," we both chuckle, "But, I'll try."

"Okay." he smiles at me.

Mr. Fitz comes in shortly after.

I'm at home right now, doing my homework in my shorts and tank top since it's hot. I know what you're thinking, "Mona Vanderwaal doing homework? No way!" And the answer to that is I was a big nerd back in junior high (a.k.a. Loser Mona) so yes, I do homework.

Suddenly I get a text from Noel, "Where were you at lunch? I didn't see you, Cindy, or Mindy!"

_Shoot, I totally forgot._

"I had to stay in Chemistry. Ms. Berkowitz kept me in since I wasn't able to finish my test…. Sorry. :(("

_He's not replying. He's probably so pissed off right now._

I continue to do my homework.

"Mona! Can you come down?" my mom calls out.

"Sure." I say as I put my pencil down.

As soon as I go downstairs, I see Noel on my couch.

"Um, Noel, do you want cookies? Water?" mom asks.

"Sure, Mrs. Vanderwaal." he says.

"Please, just call me Mrs. V." she smiles at him, then heads into the kitchen.

"What're you doing here?" I ask him.

"Well, you couldn't meet me at lunch, so I decided to follow Plan B, without throwing stones at your window, of course." he replies.

"Um, I'd imagine that this is just between the two of us," I push my hair behind my ears, "So we should wait for the water and cookies."

"Okay, then." He rests his arm on the couch, on the space behind me.

Mom comes back from the kitchen, "Okay, so I baked chocolate chip cookies because I don't know you that well and that's what I usually serve for guests. And I know I said water, but milk seemed to go so much better with these cookies."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. V." he gives her a charming smile.

"Anything else?" she asks.

"That'll be all, mom." I smile at her to kind of signal that it's her cue to leave.

I turn on the TV to fill the room with noise and to avoid the awkward silence that may or may not happen.

"Is now not a good time?" he asks.

"Um, personally I think we should just get comfortable and enjoy before we get to the serious stuff."

"Good point."

When we were finished watching _Friends_ (I know it's ironic because I've never genuinely been in a group of friends like that), I stood up and faced Noel.

"Do you want to walk around in the park?" I ask him.

"Sure." he smiles at me.

"Mom, we'll be back!" I called out to her and headed out.

"So…" I started (Or rather attempted to start a conversation)

"Mona, I know I might've been a real jerk when I was dating Aria because for one, I didn't spend a lot of time with you or Sean. I mean I blame myself for Sean lashing, or almost lashing out, on Lucas. He **needed **someone who could listen to him and I wasn't there." he began saying.

"Don't be too hard on yourself," I reassure him, "Lucas is at fault anyways, he shouldn't be saying stuff like that. It's really a really low blow for him."

When we make it to the swings in the playground, he chuckled softly.

"I've missed talking to you like this and I miss being myself around you."

"Haha I guess Noel Kahn can't be himself with the girls he's charmed?" I joked.

"That's the thing with you, Mona. You're not like other girls, you tell things like it is. You only hide things when you feel the need to." he looks at me sincerely.

_He's right… Mona you're gonna have to tell him about what you're doing to the girls sooner or later…. Wait…_

"Just where do you think you're going with this. Noel Kahn?" I ask, clearly trying to hide the fact that I'm kind of frightened.

"I can't believe that I didn't notice this any earlier and I feel like a huge idiot. Mona, you make me feel something I genuinely don't feel with other girls. I think… I'm in love with you." he stares intensely at me.

_This… must be a joke. Yeah, it's just convincing because he's said this with a ton of other girls…._

"Noel, are you practicing?" I stare at him questioningly.

"For what?!" he asks slightly offended.

"For asking out other girls! If so, cut it out. I'm **not **your training dummy." I attempt to leave the playground.

He grabs my arm, "No! Mona, I'm serious. I love how amazingly honest you are with me and how I can honestly be myself around you. I know that you probably feel the same way so will you go out with me, Mona Vanderwaal?" he gives me a genuinely love-struck look.

He stands up, pushes my hair behind my ear, and leans toward my face.

_Is he going to kiss me?_

I push him away softly and stare at the ground, "I'm sorry if it seems like I'm doubting you, but can you blame me?"

"What?"

"I mean, I have to be careful around everyone, especially you." I tell him, "I don't mean to sound like Aria but you're known for jumping from one girl to another, and I don't want to be your backup plan for when girls dump you."

"I've changed, Mona," he says, "Honestly, after I broke up with Aria I looked back on life and moments with you came up very frequently so I guess I'm happiest with you."

I'm left speechless as he makes his way towards me.

"I'll ask again," he holds my face in his hands and looks at me with those beautiful, dreamy blue eyes and says, "Will you go out with me?"

I laugh quietly to myself and reply, "Yes. I'll go out with you, Noel Kahn."

He leans in to kiss me again and this time I don't him away, instead I let him kiss me passionately as hot tears of joy stream on my face.

_This is a night I will never forget._


End file.
